1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a label made from fusable thread material with a ground fabric formed from ground warp threads. More particularly, it concerns such a label having nonfolded longitudinal sides and foldable narrow sides and with code weft threads which make an invisible bar code and, when observed in visible light, are essentially visually identical to the ground weft thread and can be distinguished therefrom when exposed to light outside the visible spectrum and which are tied to the ground fabric.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A method for the production of said label is known from EP-A-0 919 650, interconnected labels succeeding one another in the warp direction, each with a figure made by embroidery web threads and with a bar code made by code web threads, being produced in a band with a ground fabric consisting of ground warp threads and ground weft threads. The labels each have a rectangular shape with two longitudinal sides and two narrow sides, the warp threads lying parallel to and the weft threads transversely to the longitudinal sides of the label, and the bar codes being formed by code strips in each case running in the weft direction and consisting of one or more parallel code weft threads. One disadvantage is that the cut longitudinal sides have rough edges which are detrimental to wearing comfort and may cause injuries to persons and damage to the wearing support.
EP-A-0 328 320 discloses a label in which the code strips are formed from one or more parallel threads in a similar way to EP-A-0 919 650. No further particulars on the make-up of the fabric and of the code strips can be gathered from EP-A-0 328 320.
The production of labels having usable cut longitudinal sides is a problem which has existed for a long time.
In the first place, in principle, the labels are produced in such a way that the longitudinal edges are oriented parallel to the warp threads, so that the embroidery weft threads are relatively short and a stable formation of the label is obtained. If the label were oriented transversely to the warp threads, the embroidery weft threads would run over a greater length of the label, which would lead to a more unstable formation of the label, particularly in cases where the embroidery weft threads are led in a floating manner. A person skilled in the art therefore selects the arrangement of the labels from fundamental considerations in such a way that their longitudinal side runs in the warp direction and refrains from arranging the labels with their longitudinal sides transverse to the warp direction. If end folds are additionally provided on the narrow sides, each label consists of four plies in this region; this is unacceptable to the user and the wearer.
The person skilled in the art has made great endeavors, in many different directions, to make the longitudinal edges of the labels usable:
In WO 93 02246, an attempt is made to achieve this aim by shaping the undesirable fusion edges on the longitudinal sides of the labels in a noncutting manner by means of a pressing and/or vibrating tool.
In EP-A 0 389 793, it is expressly pointed out in column 1, lines 42 to 54, that experimentation at the fusion edges is useless. Instead, a complicated two-stage method for producing the labels is defined. In a first method stage, a semifinished product with cut longitudinal sides and a greater breadth is produced.
In a second method stage, the semifinished product is folded along the margin to the final breadth and the folded margins are adhesively bonded on the rear side, in order to obtain a soft label. This is therefore an extremely complicated and costly method.
In EP-A-0 427 933 and, in a similar way, in DE-A 41 15 800, webs, produced on a broad weaving machine and lying next to one another, of labels lying one behind the other in their longitudinal direction are produced. In order to avoid rough fusion brows, in a first method step the embroidery weft threads floating between adjacent webs are removed mechanically or thermally and the ground fabric is severed only in a second method step. This is still not considered sufficient, however, since, according to EP-A-0 546 485, in a third method step the warp threads are also removed from the region of the ground fabric, so that fringed edges are obtained on the longitudinal sides. This is likewise a complicated and costly method for the production of labels with soft edges on the longitudinal sides.
The object of the invention is improvement of labels with an invisible bar code, so that such labels have soft longitudinal sides.
The advantages capable of being achieved by means of the label according to the invention are to be seen essentially in that the longitudinal sides, remaining nonfolded, of the labels are produced with soft and skin-friendly cutting edges and, consequently, wearing comfort is appreciably improved, because the cut edges made by the ground wefts have virtually no brows.
Moreover, such labels can be woven with a different length and breadth on the same type of weaving machine. The cut edges, occurring during the separation of the broad fabric, of the strips can be covered by the foldable narrow sides of the labels, with the result that the labels are further improved. The code weft threads can be inserted with a weft density selectable within wide limits and can be tied into the ground fabric in order to produce the invisible bar codes, while the code strips running in each case in the warp direction and succeeding one another in the weft direction are formed in each case, according to the desired code pattern, by one or more of the warp threads being tied off. Since the weft threads run parallel to the longitudinal sides of the labels, a uniform appearance is achieved over the entire length of each label, because the ground weft threads and also the embroidery weft threads and code weft threads cover the rear side uniformly.
Embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.
Labels with a weaving repeat can be woven in the broad fabric up to a weaving breadth of approximately 115 cm, so that only a small amount of waste occurs. The weft density in the ground fabric may be selected so that labels with simulated weaves, such as taffeta, half satin and satin, are produced on the same weaving machine. The embroidery weft threads and the cold weft threads can be removed in the marginal region of the strips, so that the end folds become advantageously thin.